Improved mode of propulsion and construction of elevated railways



'UNITED STATES vPivrnNT OFFICE.-

, CHARLES HARVEY, OF TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK.

iM'PRovE'o Moor or PRoPuLsioN AND CONSTRUCTION oF ELEvAT-ro-RAILw/ivsj' Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 79,755. dated July?, 186B.

To all whom z'tnay concern:

` Be it known that I, CHARLES T. HARVEY, of Tarrytown, in the county of Westchester, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful improvementin railroads and canals having endless cables.' and stationary power; and I do liereby'decl'are the following Y to'be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the .art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of u an elevatedrailroad-with myimprovement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of an elevated railroad, showing how the same can be supported upon a frame instead of upon .columns. Fig. 3 is a'plan view of the parts represented iu Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an axial section, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation, of a drivingdrum. Fig. 6 represents a portion of afdriving-drum in longitudinal section. Figs. 7 and' 8 are respectively'face and side views of ouehalf ofa pulley made according to my invention. Fig. 9 is a peripheral view of a modification of a driving-drum wherein the coinpressing-eams that form its face are set alternately in .diiereut planes. y

Theobject of thisiuvention is, first,.to obtain the greatest' amount of traction upon the propelling-cable'consistent with the least amount p of wear and the least liability .to injury from resistance; secondly, to decreasethe cost and simplify the construction of a railroad or other works using a propellingcable; thirdly, to avoid or obviate danger by signaling from a car to the place where the motion of the vpropelliugcablevis produced. In carrying out the first feature of my invention I employ a novel method of constructing the driving-drum and of obtaining therefrom great tractive power to be exertedupon the propelling-cable.

The letter A) designates a drivingdrum whose perpheryor face is composed of a series of compressing-cams, B, hinged to the-periphery ofthe solid part ofthe .drum in such a manner as to hecapable of swinging orvibrating to and from eachl -,0ther. -A The adjacent .parts of the compressing-cams Ioverlap each other, and are vso constructed as ltopform a groovein which thepropelling-cable C runs..

The said compressing-cams are forced :apart by springs, and when the strain or pressure on the com-pressing-camsis sutcent to overcome said springs the compressing-cams are drawn toward each other, so as to bite the cable and prevent itfrom slipping. I increase the holding or gripping surfaces of the compressing-cams .and obtain additional securityagainst the slipping of the cable by forming corrugations or depressions D in their opposing faces. (See Fig. 6.) I also increase their holding capacity by setting every alternate pair of compressing-cams in a different plane on. theta-ce of the drum, thereby forming a groove which-is coml posed of a succession of straightlines,and con-. sequently the cable, in following said groove, is seized or gripped closely at the angle formed at the end of one pair of compressing-cams and the beginning of the next pair.

I do not claim the invention of a drum with compressing-cams, as I believe the same has been used on agricultural machines; but I claim the combination of the same withi stationary power for peculiar purposes, as mentioned.

In Figs. land '2, and also in Figs. 7 and 8,1 V

have shown another method of makingadriving-drum or traction-pulley, consisting of a wheel lwhose face is provided with' a series of elastic ribs, E, arranged longitudinally with the axis and secured in dovetailed recesses which allow the ribs to be moved to new positions to compensatefor wear and to be ret moved for removal.

The ribs E are` made of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material, which allows thecable to become embedded therein, and thereby increases the hold of the cable on the drum.l In using cables which have cable-heads or trucks Fthe said driving-drums or traction-- one, H, is tixed on the shaft J of the drivingdru1n,and the other,-I,is"xed on the drivingshat't K,- the said pulleys-being set u p toward each other by means of set-screws L, whereof oneis shown in Fig.1,orbyacordand weight, M.

[t rcsultsl'rcm this arrangement and construction that if a shock comes -upo'n the cable from suddenly connecting au car thereto the cable will not break or slip upon the drum; 'but -theiriction-pulh-ys H I will slip on'each other without permitting orcausin-gany damage,and

will continue to slip until the power to whichr not be fnl-ther described, as the 'principle isv shown thus.sufficiently.A In decreasingthecost and simplifying theconstruction of railroads on which Ia propelling-cable is used, I substitute bentsl or frames ofA timber P (see Fig. 2) in place of single supporting-columns,-

such as I have described in former applications for improvements in elevated railroads. A great saving is eti'ected thereby in building elevated railroads in country districts, where the space occupied by the supportingstructure is ot little `value. 1 can also employ a series of wooden piles instead of using such su pportin gcolumns, as is also illustrated at the right-hand side of Fig. 2.

Anotherimprovemcntconsistsinmakingthe guide in which the propelling-cable runs of open-work, insteadl ot' making it with closed sides, as explained by me in' previous applications.. Such van open guide, Q, is represented in Fig. 3 on the upper side of that figure, and by that construction I save material not only, but obviate the filling up or obstruction ofthe guide by accumulations of snow or ice, dirt, or other foreign substances which might impede the movementof the cable. Theopen guide Q is made of light railroad-iron or'tiat bar-iron, or of gaspipes, as may be preferred. The cableguide that conducts the cable during its onwardmovement is carried between the rails of the railroad-track and about on a level therewith ;v but in its return course it .may be earried beneath the top'ti mbers of thebentfra me I?. I further simplify and cheapen thc railroad and machiner'yfor propelling cars thereon by arranging thedrivng drum or drums A in such a manner, in combination with a double track,

that the same driving-drums'will do service for both tracks at the same time, the endless cable going out in the middle of one track in one direction and returning in the opposite direction,

whereby both tracks are served by the same cable.

In accomplishing this resultI make the drivingdrums of such dimensions that they extend from about the center ot the adjoining track,so that the cable, both on leaving the facect' thc drumto enter one cablegnide and on returning to .the drum from the other guide, will move in straight lines tangential, or nearly so, to the periphery of the drum. l This arrangement saves the expense ot' a separate-cable and a separate drum for each track. -v

Ihc driving-drum-inay be placed either in a horizontal or perpendicular position, as may be most convenient, without affecting the na- "ture of the invention.

When it is necessary to make a bend or defiection inthe cable-guide, so as to form an angle in the direction of the cable in passing from the cable-guide to the drum, or vice versa, I employ guiding pulleys or rollers at the-place where the cable leaves or enters such guide, for the purpose of conducting the cable in its proper course without frictional contact with adjoining surfaces. Such a guiding pulley or roller is seen at T in Fig. 3. 4

@Iny carrying out the third feature of my invent-ion-to wit, signalingfron the car incases of' dan ger- I use a wire, R, that extends along the track or along the cable-guide and is suspend'ed upon tilting or movable levers S, which are so constructed and arranged as to be within reach of a leverv or apparatus to be extended at pleasure from a passing car whenever al signal is desired to be given. The said wire R communicates with a bell or other signaling apparatus placed near t0 the driving drain, being led thereto by the ordinary devices used in. bell-hanging. y By means of this signaling device the conductor of a car can, whenever he discovers danger ahead, or desires that the propelling-cable shall be' stopped, or desires to make any other signal, put himselt'in communication with the engineer, a code of signals being agreed upon beforehand for the use of the road. The same principle is applicable to propelling apparatus used oncanals.

When I desire to produce additional tractive l power upon apropelling-cable I can use two driving-drums arranged in line with each other, t

U, which project outward from the drum.v

Their-'object is to provide a path for the cable, from which the cable heads or spurs will not be likely to ily-out or escape while the cableis in rapid motion. In order to obtain additional security against such an accident, I also form rigid flanges ou the solid periphery of the drum, which flanges project outward beyond and on either side of the movable compressingcams. (Shown in red in Fig. 4.) I also provide against such an' accident by surrounding a. portion ot' the driving-drum with a circular guard. (Shown in red outline in Figs. 5 and 8.) Said guard is independent of the drum, and is of course stationary.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The consttuctionand arrangement of 'a driving-drum having elastic ribs across its face, in combination with a. propelling-cable.

'2., The construction and arrangement ot' a driviugdrum having compressing-cams, in combination with a'propelli'ng-cable operated by any stationary motor, for railway or analogous purposes-substantially as described.

i 3. The construction of a driving-drum with acentral elastic cushion for receiving the impact of and imparting motion to a propellingcable, for railway or canal transportation nurposes, substantially as described.

4. The construction of the opposing surfaces of the compressing-cams B with a series of corcars in opposite directions on the diiferent tracks, substantially as described.

8. The construction and arrangementofantifriet-ion pulleys or rollers in the sides of a cableguide at points where the cable diverges from a straight line, substantially as described.

9. The angesU on the periphery of a drivin g'drum, substantiall y as and for purposes above mentioned.

CHAS. T. HARVEY. i

In presence of- W. HAUFE, J. C. Porras. 

